Something New - Naruto
by fantrash101
Summary: A sudden chain of events leaves six year-old Naruto standing outside the walls of Konoha. Well, one thing is for sure, he isn't coming back anytime soon. Naruto AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Chap. 1**

 **Hope you like it. Kind of just wanted to throw my hat into the pile of Naruto fanfictions.**

 **I'd love any comments (they help my supremely low self-confidence) and constructive criticism.**

 **Feel free to (in fact please do) leave any ideas or suggestions about characters, pairings, etc. Although please wait until chapter two-ish or such, to really understand the tone and direction of the story. The first chapter will be a little angsty, some others will be too, but this should have a lighter adventure-y feel for the most of it.**

 **On the the Naruto Wiki the exchange rate was 10 Ryo equals about one dollar.**

 **I obviously don't own Naruto.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto sat on a low branch of a tree looking over a training area he had walked into. He still had another half hour or so until the academy started, so Naruto wasn't worried. Not that being late ever really mattered to him.

But today they were learning a new jutsu. The clone jutsu to be exact, and Naruto didn't want to start the day on his teacher's bad side. Especially after waiting almost an entire year to learn a single jutsu!

Yet part him didn't want to go today(but he had to admit that was nothing new). He wasn't having a good day.

He woke up to the smell smoke and fire and on complete instinct jumped out of his window and kept running until he was sure he was out of danger. Looking back for a brief second he saw the fire and thanked his quick reflexes. His apartment building was small, and no one else wanted to live in it, something about "corruption"? Naruto wasn't completely sure what he'd heard. But at least that meant no one else got hurt.

But as such he was still unsure of the damage control. The jinchuriki had ran out of panic, not that he thought he could do anything to stop the incoming fire. Not to mention he was extremely tired. That had been at least an hour ago and the academy started at 7:40 in the morning. The adrenalin was still filtering out and he was only becoming more and more sleepy. It wasn't his fault! Naruto was a growing boy, only six, as of a week ago.

Naruto had yet to return and look around. So he had no idea how the fire had started. He guessed it was possible that he'd left the stove on.

The blonde avoided going back in fear that things hadn't gone well. For the moment he was happy thinking some patrolling ninja were able to stop the fire and barely anything had been touched.

Sighing Naruto jumped down from his branch to head to school early. His class would have a field day.

It was a good thing Naruto hadn't bothered to change out of his clothes last night.

* * *

Kotetsu laid his head onto his desk. This was the most boring job in the world.

"The internal gate guards" sounded cool at the time. He sometimes wanted to switch. He was sure Hokage-sama wouldn't mind if he went on some c-ranked missions. Delivering scrolls would be better than sitting around all day.

He glanced over at his partner Izumo. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. Kotetsu repressed a snort at that. It was Izumo that refused to let them switch jobs.

"Hey Izumo, you know," Kotetsu began, "we could always ask-"

"No"

Kotetsu whined despite knowing what the answer was ahead of time. But he knew he'd never leave as long as Izumo insisted on staying. He would never leave his best friend. Bonds like those were rare in the ninja world. The black haired shinobi would not take it for granted.

But that didn't stop him from complaining.

"Why're you so strict?"

"It'd be rude to let Hokage-sama think we don't appreciate the importance of the job he has so graciously bestowed upon us, simple chunin."

"But we don't appreciate it," Kotetsu pointed out. Izumo glared back at him. Kotetsu sighed in resignation.

"What's that smell?" Izumo asked

"Smoke?"

Both jumped out of their seats to see what was happening behind the walls. There was a pillar of smoke rising above a few houses.

"You know, we could always-" Kotetsu was cut off by a stern look.

"But it's still really early and what if-" Kotetsu stopped again when the glare didn't lessen. He scowled back at his partner.

"Our job is to stay here," Izumo assured, "that's in the red light district. Stuff like this always happens over there."

"I don't know it looks pretty bad. It's not a simple bushfire," Kotetsu started but ultimately dropped the subject. Izumo was stubborn as a mule. It was one of the things Kotetsu grudgingly admired about him.

* * *

The day just kept getting worse as far as Naruto was concerned.

Naruto continued dragging his feet towards his house. Or at least what used to be his house.

The clone jutsu was a complete disappointment. And he would continue thinking so until he was able to actually perform the technique. (Even though Naruto was secretly awed when a Hyuga branch member was able to create a healthy looking clone at the end of the day).

Naruto walked around the corner and there it was. The pile of ashes that once was his humble home.

His eyes burned with repressed tears. His nose ached at the horrid smell.

In the back of his head, Naruto knew it hadn't gone well. The fire was surely pretty big by the time he woke up. And despite the red district's all-night reputation, three am to eight am was always a quiet time. But it still hurt to see it.

Naruto sniffed the air, having strangely good smelling for whatever reason, and cringed at the residue of cigarette smoke lingering in the ashes. A cigarette. That was what caused all this?

Hardly anything was left, just part of a kitchen that he didn't even think was his.

The blonde's hand trembled. What was he supposed to do now? Stupid smokers. Stupid red light district. Stupid useless ninjas.

Naruto got anxious standing near the building. Would he be blamed for this? What would happen to him when he told his landlord that he had no money, other than the 200 ryo in his pocket. That would hardly be enough to cover an apartment complex, no matter how small.

Naruto had seen men dragged away by debt collectors.

Would he be dragged away screaming and kicking like those men too?

The blonde really did have to talk to his honorary grandpa, Hiruzen. He'd been avoiding doing that.

Naruto was scared he'd be disappointed. No matter the unconditional faith Naruto placed into the aged Hokage, Naruto was scared Hiruzen-jiji would turn him down, tell him that he already got his monthly allowance.

No one would hire him either, that was why Naruto asked - more like begged - to go into the academy two years early.

As such, Naruto started at a leisurely pace to the Hokage's residence, biting his time. Hiruzen-jiji should have already been back from the office by then. And Naruto was in no hurry to see him. Apprehension formed as he continued forward. And by the time he made it to the residence, it was around five o'clock and Naruto was sure the Hokage would be there.

He sneaked around the house, entering through a window in the back that leads to the office. The guards in front didn't like him and would most likely turn him away. He wasn't sure if the guards hadn't sensed him or just didn't care - he'd done this multiple times in the past without getting reprimanded so they could've found nothing wrong with it.

Naruto entered with his eyes screwed shut, ready to confront his grandfather figure, but when no greeting came, Naruto hesitantly opened his eyes.

In front of him, he'd found an empty desk.

That was strange, Hiruzen-jiji always tried to be home before five, and was successful most of the time. Naruto had never been left alone in the office.

Other than times Naruto had been told Hiruzen-jiji went home early, he mostly spent time with his grandfather in his office. It seemed larger and more overbearing without the Sarutobi there.

There was a picture that hung behind the desk Naruto hadn't really ever seen. Hiruzen-jiji sat in front of it and Naruto was always too busy talking and exaggeratedly retelling the stories of Uzumaki Naruto the Great™ to take a look around the room. He knew it was a library-like-study, but taking a closer look, they looked more like jutsu scrolls than books. There was also a really large scroll towards the back of the study that really made Naruto wonder how he hadn't noticed it before.

Naruto returned his attention to the painting. He sat where he usually would, but now with an unobstructed view of the image.

It looked familiar. It only took Naruto a few minutes to figure out that he was staring at the face of the fourth Hokage. Afterall he wasn't stupid. All his tests were against him was all. Also English class was dumb.

He marveled at the sight of a fully illustrated and colored version of his hero. It was the first time he saw the sunshine yellow hair and glassy blue eyes. The statue of him never gave way to information of his coloring.

But there was still something off about him, other than the obvious, he still looked familiar. Naruto just couldn't place it. But he'd definitely seen those eyes somewhere.

* * *

Naruto had been waiting for over twenty minutes. That was a lot more than Naruto usually was willing to simply stay seated, much less stay seated doing nothing while surrounded by jutsus. The Hokage should have considered himself lucky. Blessed even. But Naruto's patience was wearing thin.

He couldn't do any harm by simply looking around, could he?

The first thing that caught his eye was a scroll with a swirl pattern it looked exactly like the fishcake in ramen! He loved ramen! It was a sign, a sign from the ramen gods.

Hiruzen-jiji wouldn't mind if he borrowed a scroll right? Afterall, he was called the professor, he knew all the jutsu in Konoha right? Naruto sure knew he himself didn't like rereading books.

Anyway, the scroll was practically made for him. It was a ramen scroll, with possible ramen jutsu. Jiji didn't have the refined ramen taste he had, it obviously belonged with the blonde.

But better yet, Naruto wouldn't let his jiji find out. He was after all Uzumaki Naruto the Great™.

Naruto pulled out a sealing scroll he kept in his pants for holding pranking supplies and emptied it out. It was sad to part with, but if the ramen gods bestowed upon him the ultimate ramen scroll, he'd do anything.

He haphazardly scattered the pranking supplies behind the bookshelf and shuffled the books to look "natural" before a brilliant idea struck him. If he showed up to school knowing jutsu from the Hokage's personal library, they'd have to let him pass even if he couldn't do the dumb clone jutsu. Then he could become a ninja and make his own money. Instead of having to leach off of his Jiji.

Other than for ramen that was. He'd leach off anyone for ramen.

But that was where it all started. In for a penny, in for a pound after all.

* * *

 **How was it? Do you like the length of the chapter? This is my first fanfiction so I hope I did well. If you see any grammar or spelling problems please message me! Or can someone tell me how to get a beta reader, I'm not really sure how it works, but I'm proofreading my own story, and I'd like to have someone else's input. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chap. 2**

 **I'm not sure if I'll be doing any pairings for this fic. But I'm open to any suggestions!**

 **I'm okay with writing yaoi, yuri, or het so suggest whatever. I most likely will not do NaruHina nor NaruSaku. NaruHina is already cannon and NaruSaku, well, while I don't dislike Sakura, I don't really like her either. Also no one older than Naruto by 6 years, I just don't see a 20 year old falling in love with a 12 year old without being a pedophile. Or even an eighteen year old.**

 **Okay so here's a question: Is it an Uchiha or a Uchiha?**

 **I know it should be an Uchiha, but that sounds so off when saying it, or even reading it. Or is it just me?**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto now had a total of five scrolls. They were pretty thick and surprisingly heavy. Naruto never thought much of it when just looking them over.

The fact that one scroll could hold them all was absolutely marvelous. Who ever created sealing scrolls was a genius. But at the moment, instead of thinking on the implication of sealing, the blonde was eyeing a large centerpiece scroll like it was a medium-rare steak.

The implications of what such a scroll, that was even larger than him, could hold was much more interesting.

Sure this was probably more noticeable if it went missing, but Naruto was nothing if he wasn't creative.

Which is why now sitting on the pedestal like structure was a 'large scroll' look-alike. An empty scroll Naruto found laying around did it's job just fine, after some fixing up of course.

It was lumpier, less grand, and significantly less imposing looking. Overall underwhelming. But to simply look, possibly even stare for less than a minute in it's direction, nothing looked inherently off.

So Naruto checked it off as a success and moved on.

There was a scroll laying on Sarutobi-jiji desk that Naruto had been curious about. He noticed it just recently, which was quite strange seeing as he was sitting in front of the desk for a while.

What would the great Third Hokage be rereading?

The thought excited him. Possibly a difficult, long and dangerous jutsu that even the Hokage had look over for mistakes. Something so grand even the most powerful man in all of Konoha doubted himself over.

Or maybe something top secret that the Hokage made sure to keep close to himself with his watchful eye over it at all times. Maybe a secret jutsu of the first Hokage!

Naruto gingerly pried the paper apart. His fingers gently grasped at the paper as he rolled it down. The paper almost seemed delicate. The jinchuriki licked his chapped lips in anticipation as his eyes prepared to soak in any information the scroll had to offer.

The first jutsu Naruto registered was theclone jutsu.

...The top of the parchment read _D-ranks_.

Naruto dropped the scroll back onto the desk, all previous carefulness forgotten.

How _… anticlimactic._

He sighed but looked back at the scroll anyways. Maybe he could learn a jutsu before his jij came back, then he would have _some_ good news to relay.

They were only D-ranks, how hard could they be?

Well pretty hard if the _clone jutsu_ was anything to go by. But that was just a fluke (so Naruto told himself).

Naruto looked over the list but stopped at something called body flicker _._

That seemed pretty interesting. More interesting then henge or replacement _._

Naruto could teleport to class and scare everyone.

Maybe even the ever stoic Hyuuga would screech in terror. Even he probably didn't know body flicker. All the easy prank getaways coming to mind. How much simpler everything would be.

The hand seals were easy too. That being _tiger_ as the only one. Practicing pushing chakra into his legs wasn't hard either.

All that was left was to push _all_ his chakra into his legs right?

* * *

Izumo sat up suddenly.

Kotetsu eyed him for a second,"What's up with you?"

"Nothing, just another shinobi body flickered outside the gates."

"Really? I hadn't sensed them."

"That's because you were asleep," Izumo's eye twitched.

Kotetsu shrugged, "It's kind of late for anyone to leave now isn't it?"

"They didn't even sign out with us like they're supposed to," Izumo complained, ignoring his remark, "no one respects us!"

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow at his partner's uncharacteristic whining - that was his job.

"You're surprised?"

Izamo fixed a fierce glare at Kotetsu

"Woah woah, sorry," the black haired shinobi raised his hands in defence. "That's like the fifth time you glared at me today, if I didn't know better i'd think your an Uchiha," he whispered.

"What was that?" Izumo snapped.

"Nothing!"

* * *

Slowly blue eyes opened. Within moments they widened to saucers. Where was he? Naruto didn't really have a destination in mind when thinking about where to go, just picturing some trees. He kinda just assumed that he'd be in the Hokage's backyard. This looked nothing like the place.

His already worse for wear clothes grew only more unsightly. He was stained with dirt, and bruises were forming on his knees. His previously blonde hair was caked with leaves and grass.

The dent in the tree in front of him explained the throbbing headache Naruto was dealing with now.

 _I guess it wasn't the worst possible landing_ , Naruto mused.

With all the trees around him, Naruto could have just been an a training ground.

One quick look around quickly refuted that. About 3 kilometers away from him stood the daunting outer walls of Konoha. It peered out from over the tops of the dense woods.

He looked up at the sky only to see it was well past sunset. He hadn't noticed much while in midst of his confusion.

 _I was sure it was 6:00 at most when I 'left' Hokage-jiji's house! Did I pass out?!_

Seeing as it had to be past nine, Naruto started to run in the direction the gates. The gates closed at night to prevent intruders. Although the outside wasn't guarded the inside doubled in security, in case anyone tried to scale the wall.

But it was obviously to late. When the gates came into view, about a kilometer away. The doors were shut.

Naruto felt tears sting in his eyes but pushed them back. He hadn't cried in three years and he wasn't about to now.

But he was so scared.

What was he supposed to do? Wait out the night in the cold unprotected forest? He hadn't eaten anything that day except for a stick of dango he bought with the cash he had on him. The hunger was catching up. The exhaustion of pumping all his chakra into one jutsu was also starting to weigh on him.

So much had happened in that on day. And for once, Naruto couldn't point out the bright side of it all.

His decisions started to weigh on him.

If only he hadn't been impatient, he could have talked to his Jiji and been on his way home, it wasn't perfect, and he didn't have much, but a there was a warm blanket and a cabinet full of ramen, something he could really use right now. It was still hom-

Except for the fact it wasn't. Now it was just a pile of ashes.

Naruto then started doing something he only saved for special occasions. Thinking ahead.

What would he do when he got back inside of Konoha?

He only had 200 ryo. Not enough to sustain him for the three weeks he had until he got his next allowance.

Then there was the fact he had a bunch of the Hokage's personal scrolls on him. He hadn't meant any harm taking them, but now that he was outside the gates of Konoha, they would think he was stealing them! He would never do such a thing! But it sure didn't look convincing, what with a D-rank scroll in his hand, and a scroll in his pant's pocket. If anyone opened it they'd see all the things he had meant to just borrow. No matter how much he hid it, Naruto knew there were people in Konoha that would jump at any chance to lock him up.

In one more quick look over, Naruto halted his running to the gate.

With a spin on his heel, Naruto changed course in the opposite direction.

* * *

Hiruzen walked to the hokage residence lazily. He'd been in the office for hours now. It was eight o'clock by the time he was let out of his office.

It was all his assistance' fault.

It was her way of getting back at him for taking a slightly longer than usual lunch break. Apparently they had conflicting views on what being a little late was. Two hours was surely not that long right?

That women was definitely the reincarnation of satan, Hiruzen was sure.

He swore the pile doubled in size every time he'd look away. He couldn't even take a proper drag of his cigar! He had no explanation for how she snuck into his office without him noticing. Why she remained a chunin would forever remain a mystery.

Every time Hiruzen tried to leave he'd be dragged back by his ear. She only let him leave when waterfalls started streaming from his eyes.

The memory of her screaming for 'getting the paperwork wet' was still clear in the aged Hokage's memory.

He could only hope she would retire soon, he was scared to fire her. He was sure his ANBU guards agreed. They visibly flinched when she glared at the shadows they hid in. No one had the courage to even try and help their leader.

 _Traitors._

* * *

"When exactly did you have the chance to be glared at by so many Uchiha as to make such an analogy," Izumo question after a long silence.

"It's a real funny story actually!"

"Mhm."

"No really, it started with this kid's birthday and I kinda got lost…"

* * *

 **Yes? No?**

 **Hope the length and tone is fine. Thanks for the comments I really appreciate the help!**

 **Oh, and I don't own Naruto, obviously.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chap. 3**

 **I'm using a map made by xShadowRebirthx. It's really good, I'd suggest checking it out, as I'm not sure if it exactly aligns with other maps. It's really well made, and it's on deviant art, just look up the creator, you'll find it.**

 **I'm thinking, skill wise, Naruto will specialize in seals, stealth, and wind ninjutsu. They work well together. Maybe even poison? Should he have Kushina's chakra chains, or would that be to much? I want him to be stronger and smarter, but not really overpowered. It should be possible for him to lose against the right person, and therefore actually need a team.**

 **This was a lengthy note, sorry!**

 **Anyway thanks for reading, I hope you're enjoying it.**

* * *

The trees were getting slightly more thinned out and it has been a while since Naruto sensed any presences around, much less any Konoha chakra signatures. Naruto found himself a small hole in the side of a rock formation. It was big enough to hold three grown adults, perfect for Naruto. The boy almost collapsed as soon as the adrenalin rush left him. He was able to lower himself to the had been his second day running at top speeds to try and leave the fire country. Anyone could see him at any time!

And though Naruto hated to admit it, he did stick out. He was also the village pariah. Who knows what would happen if someone who loathed him saw him.

Naruto didn't want to know.

So far he hadn't seen anyone other than two old men in a small village.

Really calling it a village was off, it was more like a few houses, a bookstore, and a small market. He was down to 50 ryo. Naruto bought a large rabbit that cost him the better part of his spendings and a map.

He was hoping to keep the rabbit with him as long as possible, a small source of food. The two old men were also kind enough to part him with some salt to keep perishables from rotting and a small flask. It was all in the pout. There were brief moments that being 6 was truly a gift.

Naruto unsealed a scroll with the map. It was kind of disappointing to find out one of the scrolls he grabbed was just a map and information on all the countries on it. Even if it was for the best. There were some notes scribbled in the margins of the pair with more recent information. Sadly, Naruto admitted his luck was his only surviving feature at the moment. Leaving Konoha without knowingly owning a map was definitely not the _best_ idea.

Naruto decided to ignore that thought.

He first needed to find out where he was, then where he would be going. Guessing by how he had run North, he should be around the borders of Iron country or Rice.

He may not have known where he wanted to go, but Naruto did know where he did not want to go. No villages until he could defend himself more properly and out off Fire country.

Naruto tapped his chin in thought, that was a start.

Earth and lightning countries are both off quickly. Their villages are at heads with Konoha, and Naruto wasn't really trying to die at the moment. Not that his blonde hair was prominent in Konoha, but ya' never know.

The Rain was hard to reach, and in the middle of a civil war, he didn't want to partake in, as was the Water country with their bloodline purge.

Naruto mentally thanked himself for studying for his history quiz. Also for 'sleeping' in on Hiruzen-jiji's couch during meetings. He was always too nice to wake up the blonde.

Iron and Frost countries would be hard to hide in because of their geography.

Rice had some bad rumors floating around, and Orochimaru was somehow involved. Stone would be hard to get to and very little about it is known.

The Waterfall country? Nah.

Land of rivers is rumored to be hosting a criminal group. At least that's what the small notes said. The Wind country's Sand village was well allied with Konoha, and they trade ninjas often for missions.

That pretty much left Grass and Hot Water territory. Also some other small "countries" but they seemed hard to live in.

Well, he was near the border of Hot Water anyway.

* * *

Hiruzen walked home that night again. Recently he'd started finishing all his work in the tower. I felt quite nice to not take home anything.

Consequently, he returned much later than he thought.

There was a tug in his mind as if something was off. As if there was something about his daily routine he'd been forgetting.

It was quickly set aside.

In the Hokage's residence, he pushed past the study he'd spend time trying to finish what he couldn't in the office. Of course without his assistant breathing down his neck though. But with his empty arms, Hiruzen glided by.

He didn't particularly like to spend time here.

The smell of his wife lingered in traces around every step of the room. It was big and hollow.

Only then, once she was gone, did Hiruzen realize just how warm her presence was.

The draconian lady, with punches to strong for her frail body.

There wasn't the smell of warm roasted duck or the calming greeting whenever he stepped into the house. Or even the surprise of seeing how many different places his wife could find to curl up with a blanket and book.

The memories lingered though. The memories that kept Hiruzen from the Sarutobi compound. Kept him from his son, Asuma. From his newborn grandson, Konohamaru.

Yet he wouldn't trade those memories for the world.

Sarutobi chuckled bitterly,"I really am a foolish old man after all."

* * *

When Naruto woke up the next morning, he had to start packing quickly. Sadly He didn't have the money to get the provisions he needed. Like those fancy swiss army knives he wanted. But the canister was nice when the blonde wasn't sure if he'd see more fresh water soon.

He was heading towards Haran Bay, on the coast of Hot Water.

It'd be safer there, no civilization, far from the borders of the Fire country, and a beach.

Drinking out of coconuts, hanging from a hammock, tanning with some sunglasses. He didn't know where he'd get the hammock or glasses from, but that was worrying for a later date.

But after that, he didn't know what he wanted to do. He'd stolen some scrolls, no matter how accidental, so Naruto decided it would be the _respectful_ option to learn from them.

Then just live his life?

Like Naruto stated, thinking ahead wasn't his forte.

Obviously, his life in Konoha wasn't going anywhere, but was life outside of it either?

Naruto pushed away those thoughts. He was six. He had his whole life ahead of him. Hopefully.

For now, he would travel the world. Yah. That sounded good. He always wanted to know what happened outside of the prison-like walls.

Maybe he'd make his first friends. Maybe a family. The jinchuriki's eyes lit up at the prospect.

But until then, the rabbit he bought was running out. For the few days it would take to get to the bay, Naruto could survive. Wouldn't be the first time he was starved or dehydrated. Maybe if he was lucky he might find a squirrel.

Oh but the stories he would have.

* * *

Naruto collapsed panting at the coast of Hot Water. The water looked so nice. Naruto was sweating. It might be October, but Hot Water was one of the warmer countries, and he had been running for the whole day. The breeze picked up by the salt water felt so nice.

The water wasn't drinkable, but it looked like it was. Naruto was tempted stick his head in, despite his common sense. Which he did have, no matter what others though. Naruto just thought it wasn't as fun to _always_ go with the commonsensical way of life.

He ran out of his river water in the morning when he needed to cook the rest of the rabbit.

Maybe he should stay here for a few days? Hopefully, in that time he could learn how to hunt properly.

While making a "comfy" bed in the leaves, Naruto searched his clothes for anything.

Surprisingly he found more than he thought.

 _Maybe Hiruzen-jiji was right when he said I was messy..._

There was another 100 ryo in his pocket, not a lot, but better than just 50. Then a seal in his jacket. Looking more closely at it, Naruto recognized it as the seal that jiji gave him to carry some history books.

Naruto asked for them when studying for that horrible quiz, which he still failed! Seriously nothing he studied for was on that test, not even what they were learning in class, it was dumb, and Naruto was _definitely_ not bitter. _But..._ Naruto still swore -no salt, absolutely none- that there was foul play going on.

Not that he mentioned it, after that dumb buttface Uchiha smirked at him.

There was definitely a conspiracy against him though. But no salt. He wasn't _petty_. Covering his teacher in molasses and goose feathers meant nothing!

 _Where was I?_

Right the history books. Jiji was so excited, he filled a scroll with them and sent Naruto to read as much as possible.

Then when Naruto did make it home, he promptly forgot and decided to eat ramen instead. Of course, Naruto did start two of them, and while he loved reading, they were _so_ thick.

Thinking about it, The seal should have some space inside it for storage. Although he doubted he could store food. It would probably rot. His poor food.

But he could store the rabbit fur he kept earlier because (he was a hoarder) he thought it could be useful. Maybe, this time his hoarding- _no_ , planning ahead, came in handy.

Naruto knew he would need supplies, like clothes, that shiny swiss army knife, and maybe some more storage seals. Were there seals that could hold water? Well, he would come to that. But to get that he would need money, money which he could get by selling animal furs. Although the rabbit fur was quite poorly skinned, he could get better.

Why not, Naruto couldn't think of anything better at the moment.

Naruto also wanted to buy a boat ride to the content with no, or at least very few ninja. Marsh, one of the countries on the island seemed great with all the water and forests, but it had a ninja village. Although he was sure they wouldn't recognize him, better to stay clear of there for now. Wolf and Honey seemed fine though. He wanted to get there before winter. Hot Water country was warm but still got snowy winters.

While Hotsprings, the capital, was relatively safe, Honey and Wolf would be more so. There should be some small towns where he could get warm clothes and an occasional hotel bed. Food would be more sparse in the winter too.

Well, that was one more thing he would have to learn to deal with. The mental list just kept getting larger.

* * *

Because Naruto just couldn't help himself, he opened the large scroll.

It was called the forbidden scroll.

How scandalous!

But of course, as it seemed life liked to mock him. The first thing on the scroll was the multi shadow clone.

Was everyone in some type of loop he wasn't? Even a fricken scroll.

Naruto sighed. He guessed it was a little different? If the multi was anything to go off of. He doubted the academy taught students forbidden jutsu. Why would the clone jutsu even be forbidden? It was just a dumb illusion.

Reading the description was pretty interesting though.

Blah blah, forbidden, blah, solid clones, yadda yadda, chakra exhaustion, heh, more like reader exhaustion!

 _No?_

And death! Wow, now he got the forbidden part. But the real interesting part was the memory transfer.

Memory transfer? Heck yeah! Hunting just became ten times easier. He'll actually be able to learn it!

Then there was the theory behind it. Naruto was actually quite interested because he did, in fact, enjoy reading, just his only five books were about plants. Jiji always gave them to him, for whatever reason. But for his part, he really turned Naruto into quite the gardener. As much of a gardener one could be in a cement apartment living off the orphan fund.

The hand signs, or _sign_ really, was easy. Other than the fact he'd never seen it before. Despite that, he applied the theory, project his yang chakra, his mental energy, then gave it a form to the image using yang chakra, or physical energy. It didn't really work the first time and on the ground laid what looked like his body would if it was a swirling mass of chakra. Or so he guessed

Naruto frowned. Shaping his chakra was harder than he thought.

Plopping down, Naruto looked back at the D-rank scroll. Like he thought, it had some footnotes on control exercises and meditation.

Meditation sounded like a good start. They learned that at the academy briefly to first "unlock" their chakra. Even though _technically_ it was always there. Naruto brought it with his professor but was politely ignored.

Naruto, of course, had a hard time with it. As that seemed like a universal rule when he was in the same sentence as the academy. But he blamed it on how the academy thought them.

He found his chakra almost instantly. It was big, warm and vibrant. But what the teachers wanted was for them to release a controlled burst to launch the leaf off their palm. To do that, Haruki-sensei told them to picture their chakra as big blue butterflies, that they had to catch and push towards their hand.

It was hard to visualize his chakra as a bunch of different butterflies, much less to capture it.

But now, sitting and looking, he saw one creature. It looked like a thread that weaved through his body at a constant flow. It felt alive, but as one being, different but not separate from his own. It was a bluish violet, opposed to the usual baby blue he heard of. It was a pretty color reminding Naruto of the morning glories he had in his room. It embraced him warmly. But it felt almost cool, like running water. It was calm and relaxing and felt nice.

He let his conscious flow with his chakra, getting a feel for how it moved. Sometimes twisting and turning it into simple patterns. He wasn't able to freely weave it, but it got easier to direct it.

Meditating was pretty fun, Naruto decided. He thought it would be boring, but was pleasantly surprised for a first. He could just feel his body relaxing, melting almost. The ground felt like it was going to swallow him, it was a pleasant thought. The chakra seemed to stretch around his body, and he was able to feel around. It was almost like seeing normally, just every small detail stood to attention.

There was something else in his chakra that he noticed after a while, but decided to ignore it.

That body flicker scroll he accidentally stole was quite useful, Naruto reluctantly admitted. Learning - relearning really - body flicker wasn't hard, only the trees he ran into were hard. And painful.

The scroll turned out to be a D and E-rank ninjutsu scroll. D-ranks always seemed to be underestimated. Again something Naruto grudgingly admitted. Maybe it was a good thing he 'borrowed it.'

They had so many different uses, it was only a matter of creativity. Something Naruto brought to every party in spades!

The body flicker, while he could see it's superb awesomeness, was not very applicable to his needs. It was good for traveling a few hundred meters quickly, but Naruto needed to know where he was going. The replacement jutsu was actually great for hunting. He could "teleport" right to his prey with little disturbance for a quick kill. Something he was still squeamish doing.

He didn't realize blood was so... _gross._ He was just thankful he was alone, and not because his squeals sounded girly! But he was still glad no one heard his first kill.

Practice to perform replacement without the smoke cloud was surprisingly hard. Really, it was a heads-up that he was using a jutsu. And for Naruto, stealth was the key to his lunch. Thanked god he had a platoon of Naruto's to practice with him.

But back to jutsu, henge had absolutely no limits in his mind. If the blonde put in extra chakra, he also could make a solid transformation. Why was this such an underused jutsu? Probably because it wasn't "flashy" - but then again why would a ninja want a flashy jutsu? Weren't ninja all about stealth? But you know, again, Naruto wasn't salty. None at all.

There were two other techniques he'd been working on, the invisibility cloak and paralysis. Paralysis seemed great, but he needed to work on his killer intent if he wanted it to work on something more aggressive than an angry goose - Though they are terrifying.

A shiver rippled through Naruto's spine every time he thought about them. He still had bruises.

But it was a funny story really, it started with this kid's birthday and Naruto kinda got lost…

 _Wasn't I thinking about something else… Right!_

Invisibility was fine but it didn't mask his chakra or smell, which the wolf he was hunting picked up. It didn't bode well after that. All in all Naruto had a lot of bruises lately. It was also a pretty dumb jutsu theoretically. The scroll said something about a sheet? Naruto just used his chakra to hide instead.

Well, Naruto was working on it. To be able to do most of those jutsu he had to learn tree walking. It was a chakra control exercise that was on the scroll. His control was alright considering he was only six and didn't have _too_ much chakra, though that was debatable.

The meditation helped too.

But guessing by the results he would need to move onto another exercise that was briefly mentioned, water walking. Naruto shivered at the thought of what would happen if his reserves continued to grow at this speed without working on control. A truly terrifying thought.

* * *

 **Thanks for the comments, they're fun to read.**

 **I'm glad someone sees my Uchiha dilemma by the way. This chapter wasn't too interesting, not my best work. I tried to do something different, but I couldn't think of anything that wasn't a complete exposition dump. I promise they'll get more interesting when other characters show up and fights start to break out.**

 **You guys are great, hope you keep reading!**


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